Do you ever wonder why it can be so difficult to do the things you want to do, even when you are aware they are the things you want? Yet you still struggle to do them? How many times have you given up on an idea? On yourself? On becoming the everything you were made to be?

Maybe you started going after a goal and didn’t tell anyone so no one would know just how much effort you put in when you didn’t get it done. Maybe you hid how much effort it took you to get it done.

Or maybe you choose to do the things that are easier to get done, so you don’t get to some things you really want that will require more effort. Effort you can’t be certain will be worth it. Effort you can’t be certain you’ll have the capacity to sustain. Effort you wake up in the middle of the night wishing you had invested in making years ago, but when you wake up in the morning, you don’t know how to start, so you don’t.

It takes effort to pave a path for yourself. It takes effort to make the most of opportunity. It takes effort to make the most of your life.

Focus: What do you think about this? In what ways do you agree? In what ways do you disagree?

To make the most of your life requires discovery thinking.

It requires creativity. It requires you to have requisite variety.

Requisite variety is a term used to describe effective systems. I’m not an expert in the technical application of this term, but I know what it means. It means that to be most effective, a system must have at least as many options available as it has obstacles that it may encounter in order to operate without stoppage. (sciencedirect.com)

Let’s apply it to ourselves.

We are most effective when we have at least as many options available to us as we have obstacles that we may encounter in order to operate without stoppage.

To make the most of our lives, we must be able to counteract varied distractions with a sufficient variety of actions. We must be open creativity to counteract the varied distractions we encounter daily.

Creativity thrives in those who are sober-minded and self-controlled. It thrives in those who allow their minds to be still enough to realize they have more choice than it may seem.

Requisite variety is personal agency, and it thrives in those who are willing to harness their brain.

You know. Tomorrow comes on the regular. The sun sets and rises regardless of whether we think or not. Whether we feel or not. Whether we do anything, or not.

How we choose to use the time we have in the day makes no difference to the day. Years pass. We grow older, but are we growing—are we getting older and more mature? Or are we just getting older?

Are we day dreaming and drifting with doubt? Or are we day dreaming and designing with intention? See, day dreaming is useful for moving forward if we dream, think, feel, and design actions that move us forward and then we take action. Day dreaming is useful for those who think, feel, and act.

But if we dream without designing actions. Without taking action. We drift.

Our brains will operate in survival mode, in get to the next thing mode, in what feels to me like waste your life hoping for things to change for the better mode. It’s weird, but if we’re not alert to it, we can live our lives on autopilot.

Sometimes things do change for the better.

But why not harness your mind rather than being hijacked by whatever comes your way or by whatever is the easier thing to do in the day.

Why not exercise requisite variety? Why not be creative? Why not exercise personal agency and do the work to grow into the everything you were made to be?

It is not easy, but you have everything you need, you only need to harness it.

Fuel: What are you thinking about right now? When you think about requisite variety, about creativity, about having more choice than you may realize, what comes to mind. What do you see?

Imagine yourself parking the thoughts that stop you from moving forward. From growing. You can pick them back up in a minute, but give yourself some space from them for a moment. Set them aside.

Relax for a moment and think. What fills your mind in their place?

We can harness our brains with a proactive mindset that replaces compliant drift with creative design.

We can think, feel, and act.

You have more choice than you may realize.

You can design with intention and make the most of your life.

You can counteract varied distractions with a sufficient variety of actions.

While you cannot control the disturbances or distractions that come at you daily, you can control your response to them. This is the outcome of a proactive mindset. A proactive mindset positions you to pre-decide you will be open to creatively find a way to keep growing in the face of tension.

Remember, to keep growing, or to mature, requires two things of us.

It requires that we individuate and relate. The MettlEdge Mind model is a model that empowers you to do these things. It empowers you to own your distinctive design and engage in positive relationship with others by helping you form a proactive mindset that equips you to be sound-minded and self-controlled so you harness your mind, you put Your Thinking Into The Service Of Your Passions to build sincere (your distinctiveness) rapport (positive connection) with ALL kinds of people—you build rapport, which is positive connection with others, as you show up with your sincere distinct self. No matter how convinced you may be that you’re not a relational person and no matter how different or distinct others may be from you, The MettlEdge Mind is a proactive mindset model that can give you more requisite variety. Awareness that you have more options available to you to counter disruptions than you may realize. Awareness that you can push through hard things that have the potential to hijack you and instead of getting stuck, you get through and grow.

We are naturally drawn to people who are like us. It’s easier.

But growth demands us to be open to sharing our distinctiveness with others, despite our differences.

That’s called unity. That’s called maturity. That’s called serenity in motion.

And stepping into it calls for us to let there be tension.

The first of six frames of the MettlEdge Mind.

The six frames include

1. Let There Be Tension.

2. Let There Be Compassion.

3. Let There Be Strength.

4. Let There Be Limits.

5. Let There Be Conversation.

6. Let There Be Joy.

These Six Frames of the MettlEdge Mind help you open up creativity and counteract the varied distractions, disturbances, and difficulties that you face daily so you choose to do what you can to make the most of your life.

Over the next six weeks, I’ll introduce each of the frames, inviting you to think about how each opens you up to creativity and helps you pave a path for yourself to grow up the everything you were made to be.

Fight: In what way do you want to fight to harness your mind, to think, feel, and act with intention rather than mindlessly drift, if anything?

When will you do it?

What difference will it make?

This has been episode one of our podcast series on Proactive Mindset Formation: The process of cultivating a mental outlook that focuses on taking initiative and anticipating future challenges or opportunities, rather than simply reacting to events as they occur. This kind of mindset encourages individuals to be forward-thinking, solution-oriented, and responsible for their own actions and outcomes.

The series is called “The Six Frames of a Proactive Mind” and through each conversation, I will introduce the six frames of what I am calling The MettlEdge Mind.

Don’t forget to join our Substack community, MettlEdge. You can download the Substack app, join MettlEdge, and begin to receive periodic newsletters, listen to my podcasts, and catch me when I go live.

Also, you can go to my website, mettledge.com, and check out available 1:1 coaching opportunities.

Finally, if you are ready to grow and want to hear more about my 6-month MettlEdge Mind Cohort, go to the website and schedule a free consult to learn more.

I pray this podcast has been a blessing to you!

Let’s go!

References:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/requisite-variety)